7 Check Points to Building your Personal Brand

Why should you care about your brand?

In order to achieve your goals, having a brand that works for you in creating a positive emotional response in others, is going to go a long way to determining how successful you are.

Brands create emotional responses that lead us to take action.

As much as we like to rationalise our day-to-day decisions, the truth is, they are made emotionally, first and rationally, second. We will often rationalise a decision we’ve made to try and make sense of it but, in the end, how we felt about something is more persuasive than what we thought about it.

Ask anybody why they chose an expensive brand and they’ll tell you about features, advantages and benefits. The reality is, they bought it because the brand evoked a feeling that they identified with, which then got them to take action.

They had an approach-response and not an avoid-response.

With limited time, or opportunity to experiment we intentionally narrow our choices to those at the top ~ Seth Godin

Think about the direct link between your Personal Brand and your ability to achieve your personal and professional goals. Once you realise the power of a brand, you might not leave your own brand to chance any longer!

Does your brand work for you or against you?

Here are 7 questions to reflect on your current reality, ask yourself:

What’s in it for you to develop your brand?

What do you want your brand to say about you?

In relation to the statement above, list 5 values that you want to be knownfor?

5. What are 3 areas of development? (These are things you think you could do better at.)
6. Who is the target market for your brand? (Who needs to see you at your best?)
7. What are 3 things you can do immediately to start developing your personal brand?

Always show up with your “A” game. Look successful and you will feel successful, but while you have to fit in to get in, don’t lose your identity along the way. Always maintain your awareness around developing and maintaining personal brand and bring your best self to the table.

Don’t be a follower, step up and be a leader, the world needs you!

Every day I meet people who have so much to give but have been bullied enough or frightened enough to hold it back. It’s time to stop complying with the system and draw your own map. You have brilliance in you, your contribution is essential, and the art you create is precious. Only you can do it, and you must ~ SethGodin

In Business terms you are the CEO of your position. It doesn’t matter how high or low that position is in the hierarchy, own it like a boss.

Once you have answered the questions above, you now have a starting point from which to grow your Personal Brand, activate your brand promise and set out achieving your personal and professional goals!

Here are 7 ways to “up the anti” on your personal brand

Articulate your purpose statement, or at least start the process of determining how you want others to perceive you. That way you can decide if your actions / behaviours are in line with your brand promise.

Assess how you show up by doing a personality profile such as DISC. Knowing why you do what you do and also why others behave as they do can increase your relatedness, which is good for your brand.

Emotional Intelligence assessments are an invaluable tool. They provide leadership development tools around your leadership potential based on your Emotional Intelligence. We recommend using the Roche Martin ECR. However, you need a coach to walk you through the results and help you plan your next steps.

Be aware of how you react in various situations, in other words be mindful. Think about situations where you need to make a good impression and then show up appropriately.

Model yourself on people that you respect and admire, but don’t try and be a copy of them.

Make sure your beliefs about your brand are in line with your goals. Personal branding is not “Self Promotion” or vanity, it’s about being who you were created to be!

Finally, ask yourself, “If the job you did was a product or service that you offer, how would you sell it, would anyone buy it and what would they be prepared to pay?”

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others ~ Marianne Williamson

I hope these tips and tools serve you today in truly stepping out and showing up. Take action in sharing and living your gifts each day so that others become empowered by your presence and energy, and most importantly, your truth.

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About the Author

Nicole Hughes

Welcome to the Shift Diary.
My hope for you is that these resources will open you up to receive the little nuggets of wisdom, inspiring you to make bold and courageous moves, take action and live life as you have once only imagined.